Abstract
The optimum condition for storage of 'Laetitia' plums (Prunus salicina) under controlled atmosphere (CA) is not currently known. This study was aimed at assessing the effects of controlled atmospheric (CA) conditions on the postharvest quality preservation of ‘Laetitia’ plums. Besides regular atmosphere (RA; 21kPa O2 + 0.03 kPa CO2) as condition/treatment control, the following CA conditions (kPa O2 + kPa CO2) were assessed: 1+3; 1+5; 2+5; 2+10; and 11+10. In all cases, the fruit were stored for 60 days at 0.5°C±0.1°C and 96±2% of relative humidity (RH). Upon removal from the cold storage chamber and after four days in ambient conditions (20±2°C/60±5% RH), the fruit were assessed in terms of: respiration and ethylene production rates; flesh firmness; texture; titrable acidity; red color index and hue angle (ho) of the skin; incidence of fruit cracking and internal breakdown (flesh browning). The fruit stored under the different CA conditions presented lower respiration and ethylene production rates, higher values of flesh firmness, texture and titrable acidity, lower development of skin red color, and lower incidence of skin cracking compared to the fruit under RA. CA conditions of 2+5, 1+5, and 1+3 resulted in a more substantial delay of ripening. CA conditions of 2+5 and 1+3 resulted in lower incidence of internal breakdown. Key words: Ripening, physiological disorder, postharvest, Prunus salicina.
Highlights
The maturation of plums (Prunus salicina) is extremely fast, and its harvesting period usually does not last more than 20 days, providing a large amount of fruit in a short period of time
The partial pressures of gases in the treatments with low O2 and high CO2 were obtained by means of diluting O2 in the environment with injection of N2 from a nitrogen generator which operates by the “Pressure Swing Adsorption”
Flesh firmness was higher in fruit stored under controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions than regular atmosphere (RA), after removal from the chamber as well as after four days of shelf life (Table 1)
Summary
The maturation of plums (Prunus salicina) is extremely fast, and its harvesting period usually does not last more than 20 days, providing a large amount of fruit in a short period of time. The storage conditions can extend the supplying period. Storage under controlled atmosphere (CA) is the storage system that allows the maintenance of quality by reducing the fruit metabolism. Storage of plums under CA is still little explored, and in the case of the ‘Laetitia’ cultivar, studies evaluating the CA conditions for maintaining quality are scarce. The studies were not able to define the ideal CA condition for storage.
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